Upcoming Gun Appreciation Day causes controversy in US (VIDEO)

Guns fly off the shelf Dec. 17, 2012 in Tinley Park, IL.

Supporters of gun rights in the US are planning to turn out for Gun Appreciation Day on Saturday, an organized effort to "send a loud and clear message to Congress and President Obama" — but many Americans are less than enthused by the prospect.

Gun Appreciation Day organizers state on their website that those planning to celebrate should head to a gun store, gun range, or gun show carrying "your Constitution, American flags, and your 'Hands off my Guns' signs"' — in an event that occurs only days before the Monday celebration of both the Presidential inauguration in Washington DC, and the nation's observation of Martin Luther King Day.

The holiday is sponsored by a number of right-to-bear-arms organizations and Tea Party groups, including the Second Amendment Foundation, the Social Security Institute, and Revolution PAC, although the NRA appears to be conspicuously absent from their ranks.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama released a sweeping gun control package that would include direct executive action, and possible legislative proposals that he'd need the help of Congress to enact — the New York Times has released a full list.

The NRA recently released a scathing critique of the Joe-Biden helmed White House task force on gun control, arguing that the meeting offered only "failed solutions" to gun control problems.

Those less entranced by guns came out in droves on social media to criticize the holiday, especially its decidedly symbolic timing. Storify below: